APPEAR in practice_17: From EduLAND to Edu4GEO

2 APPEAR projects as facilitators of a successful partnership

The project EduLAND2 supported resilience in land management by establishing a Land Administration Competence Centre at Debre Markos University, which – since 2016 – has provided teaching, research, and policy guidance activities in the field of land administration. A couple of years before, Ethiopia launched modern land administration practices in almost all regions of the country. However, there was a lack of well-qualified specialists in the field of land administration. EduLAND2 and the follow-up project Edu4GEO2 aim to close this gap. While EduLAND2 was focusing on the implementation of a bachelor programme on “Land Administration and Surveying”, the objective of Edu4GEO2 is to upgrade the competence of undergraduate students through implementing a master curriculum on “Geomatics” to make students fit for leading positions in the public and private sector of land administration and geodata-management, as well as for teaching and research activities at academic institutions. Both study programmes encourage especially female students to enrol.

In 2014, the preparatory funding awarded to the current project consortium established a long-term partnership between two Austrian and two Ethiopian universities. By this, and by funding the academic partnership project EduLAND2, the advanced academic partnership project Edu4GEO2 and several scholarships, APPEAR has made an indispensable contribution to the successful and long-term partnership between the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Technische Universität Wien (TUW), Debre Markos University (DMU) and Bahir Dar University (BDU).

EduLAND2 and Edu4GEO2 are based on an equal partnership following the principle of cooperation, mutual learning and mutual understanding in the field of profession. Equal partnership was applied using knowledge exchange, joint research activities and staff mobility between all project partners.

APPEAR in practice invites project partners to reflect on and discuss their experiences referring to a specific topic in the project implementation process of their partnerships.

Event details:

When: Tuesday, 9 May 2023, 18:00-21:00

Where: OeAD building, Ebendorferstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, Saal 1

Programme:

• Welcome remarks
• Short presentations
  • From EduLAND2 to Edu4GEO2:  Teaching, research, and policy guidance activities in the field of land administration
  • Equal partnership - Principles, implementation and lessons learned
  • Impact of APPEAR on university development and student perspective
• Discussion
• Food & drinks

(registration closed)

You would like to know more about Edu4GEO? Visit the project website.

Speakers:

Moderator: Maiada Hadaia, OeAD

Sayeh Kassaw AGEGNEHU has a PhD from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna and is a senior academic staff at the Institute of Land Administration at Debre Marko University. He initiated the implementation of the bachelor curriculum in land administration and is now involved in establishing the master curriculum at DMU. From 2015 to 2020 he was Vice President for Business and Development at DMU.

Belachew Yirsaw ALEMU is working as an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Land Administration in Bahir Dar University. He received his MSc in Land Management and his PhD from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.

Thomas BAUER is working as a senior lecturer at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna in the field of geographic information systems and remote sensing. He is the coordinator of the current Edu4GEO2 project funded by APPEAR.

Reinfried MANSBERGER is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Geomatics at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) and was the project coordinator of the APPEAR project EduLAND2. His research work is focusing on land administration systems and on the acquisition of land information by means of remote sensing technologies.

Tafere MELAKU has a PhD in linguistics from Addis Abeba University in Ethiopia. He is the current president of the Debre Markos University. He was advisory board member of the EduLAND2 project and he is also part of the advisory board supporting the currently running EdU4GEO2 project.

Mulugeta Tenaw ASSAYE currently is undertaking his PhD studies at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna with a scholarship from APPEAR. Before he was dean of the Institute of Land Administration at Debre Markos University.

Doris DAMYANOVIC is Vice Rector for Teaching, Continuing Education and Students, assoc. Prof. at the Institute of Landscape Planning at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU). She is member of the Edu4GEO2-Team.

Gerhard NAVRATIL is a Senior Scientist at the Department for Geodesy and Geoinformation, Research Group Geoinformation, Technische Universität Wien. He is a specialist in cadastral systems and land registration (land administration systems), Land Surveying and geographic information systems.